Moderation Management

Moderation Management (MM) is a harm reduction-focused self-help support group for problem drinkers who want to reduce or stop drinking. MM was founded in 1994 by Audrey Kishline, a housewife from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and incorporated in 1995. Relying on a strong basis in research supporting the effectiveness of moderation training approaches with problem drinkers, MM provides support in several different forms for people attempting to change their drinking habits. MM sponsors face to face meetings around the United States and maintains a number of e-mail list-serves and a variety of international online chat rooms devoted to providing support for MM members in their efforts to reduce drinking to healthy, nonharmful levels. MM also sponsors an online drinking self-monitoring program called Abstar (Abstar and other information about MM can be found on the MM Web site at http://www.moderation.org). MM has members in the United States, South America, and Europe.

The basic program of MM is based on cognitive behavioral moderation training approaches including William Miller and Ricardo Munoz's behavioral self-control training, and Martha Sanchez-Craig's DrinkWise. Drawing on these two well-researched treatments, MM holds a number of assumptions about problem drinkers and behavior change that are [Page 556]consistent with research in these areas. These assumptions, as listed on the MM Web site, are as follows:

• Problem drinkers should be offered a choice of behavioral change goals.
• Harmful drinking habits should be addressed at a very early stage, before problems become severe.
• Problem drinkers can make informed choices about moderation or abstinence goals based upon educational information and the experiences shared at self-help groups.
• Harm reduction is a worthwhile goal, especially when the total elimination of harm or risk is not a realistic option.
• People should not be forced to change in ways they do not choose willingly.
• Moderation is a natural part of the process from harmful drinking, whether moderation or abstinence becomes the final goal. Most individuals who are able to maintain total abstinence first attempted to reduce their drinking, unsuccessfully. Moderation programs shorten the process of discovering if moderation is a workable solution by providing concrete guidelines about the limits of moderate alcohol consumption.

MM's assumptions are further guided in their implementation by a clearly stated set of values with respect to helping people resolve problems associated with drinking. These values are also stated on the MM Web site:

• Members take personal responsibility for their own recovery from a drinking problem.
• People helping people is the strength of the organization.
• People who help others to recover also help themselves.
• Self-esteem and self-management are essential to recovery.
• Members treat each other with respect and dignity.

Two important components of the MM program are the use of empirically derived drinking limits that assist members in determining what level of drinking is likely to be safe for them, and a recommendation that members begin the process of moderating their drinking by abstaining from alcohol for up to 30 days.

MM's drinking limits are an amalgam of empirically derived drinking guidelines that have been generated over the years by researchers in both the United States and other countries. The limits, which are considered to be the maximum safe amount an individual may drink during one drinking episode, are no more than four drinks per day for males, with no more than 14 drinks in a given week, and 3 drinks per day for females, with no more than 9 drinks in given week. Members are also provided with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) charts to assist them in calculating their own level of intoxication and helping ensure that even if limits are exceeded on a given day, the member will not exceed a BAC that is safe (generally .05%).

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